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Robert Reich: Trump Is Inviting Another Financial Crisis

National Economic Director Gary Cohn (right) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announcing the Trump administration's tax reform proposal in the White House briefing room in Washington, U.S, April 26, 2017. Robert Reich writes that Trump has brought more banksters into his administration than any in any previous administration – mostly, from Goldman Sachs.
The head of Trump’s economic council is Gary Cohn who was president of Goldman Sachs, and another Goldman alumnus is Trump’s pick for Treasury Steve Mnuchin. A decade ago, Goldman Sachs defrauded investors and ripped off its customers and it has paid nearly $9 billion in government fines. Many of Trump’s banksters were there at that time.Carlos Barria/reuters

Trump supporters need to join with Democrats and progressives in stopping this rollback, and holding Trump accountable.

The biggest banks are far bigger today than they were in 2008. Then, the five largest had 25 percent of U.S. banking assets. Today they have 44 percent.

If they were too big to fail then, they’re too big period now.

Getting rid of Dodd-Frank triples the odds of another financial crisis.

Meanwhile, Trump has brought more banksters into his administration than any in any previous administration – mostly, from Goldman Sachs.

The head of Trump’s economic council is Gary Cohn who was president of Goldman Sachs. Other Goldman alumni include Trump’s right hand man Steve Bannon, Trump’s pick for Treasury Steve Mnuchin, Trump’s pick for the securities and exchange commission Jay Clayton and another White House advisor, Dina Powell.

Now remember, a decade ago, Goldman Sachs defrauded investors and ripped off its customers and it has paid nearly $9 billion in government fines.

Many of Trump’s banksters were there at that time.

Don’t let Trump and the Republicans endanger our economy again. Let’s not make the same mistake twice.

Robert Reich is the chancellor’s professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a senior fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. He served as secretary of labor in the Clinton administration, and Time magazine named him one of the 10 most effective Cabinet secretaries of the 20th century. He has written 14 books, including the best-sellers Aftershock, The Work of Nations and Beyond Outrage and, most recently, Saving Capitalism. He is also a founding editor of The American Prospect magazine, chairman of Common Cause, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and co-creator of the award-winning documentary Inequality for All.